Curbing malpractice: Teachers to boycott HSC practical exams in Hyderabad
They claim decision against hiring external examiners will promote cheating.
They claim decision against hiring external examiners will promote cheating.
HYDERABAD:
The Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) will boycott the upcoming Intermediate practical exams as the board has refused to hire external examiners.
The Higher Secondary Schools Certificate (HSC) Parts I and II practical exams conducted by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Hyderabad, will start on June 3 in nine districts of Hyderabad division. The move is likely to affect as many as 87,572 students, who appeared for the HSC parts I and II theory exams, which were held from May 16 till May 30.
The teachers are protesting against the board’s decision not to hire external coordinators for the practical tests. “All the other boards in Karachi, Sukkur and Larkana are obtaining services of externals except BISE Hyderabad,” said the SPLA’s regional president, Shahnawaz Panhwar, at a press conference on Saturday.
According to him, the board officials have cited financial problems for not hiring external examiners. Panhwar alleged, however, that the board was promoting a culture of cheating and favouritism in the exams. “The external’s role is crucial in curbing cheating and favouritism as the invigilator and the internal both belong to the same college where the practical test is conducted.”
The BISE has set up 175 examination centres for the practical exams. The SPLA and SPSSA claimed that most of the centres were set up in the students’ own colleges. The board officials were not available for comments.
“Both the invigilator and internal will be from the college and, therefore, they are very likely to favour the students. Assigning an external at a college ensures that the students get marks on merit,” Panhwar said.
The board pays Rs500 to BPS-17 teachers and Rs750 to BPS-18 teachers who are hired as externals. Up to three externals may be hired for physics, chemistry and biology in each center.
SPLA member Prof. Liaquat Jaffri said that the board had not been hiring externals for the last two years for the same reason despite the fact that the examination fee charged from the students by BISE Hyderabad was higher than that by the Sukkur and Larkana boards. He said that the teachers had caved in to the BISE’s excuses about their financial woes during the last two years but they would now resist the board’s decision.
During the theory exams, the vigilance teams booked more than 1,500 students for cheating and 23 invigilators for assisting the students to cheat.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2013.
The Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) will boycott the upcoming Intermediate practical exams as the board has refused to hire external examiners.
The Higher Secondary Schools Certificate (HSC) Parts I and II practical exams conducted by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Hyderabad, will start on June 3 in nine districts of Hyderabad division. The move is likely to affect as many as 87,572 students, who appeared for the HSC parts I and II theory exams, which were held from May 16 till May 30.
The teachers are protesting against the board’s decision not to hire external coordinators for the practical tests. “All the other boards in Karachi, Sukkur and Larkana are obtaining services of externals except BISE Hyderabad,” said the SPLA’s regional president, Shahnawaz Panhwar, at a press conference on Saturday.
According to him, the board officials have cited financial problems for not hiring external examiners. Panhwar alleged, however, that the board was promoting a culture of cheating and favouritism in the exams. “The external’s role is crucial in curbing cheating and favouritism as the invigilator and the internal both belong to the same college where the practical test is conducted.”
The BISE has set up 175 examination centres for the practical exams. The SPLA and SPSSA claimed that most of the centres were set up in the students’ own colleges. The board officials were not available for comments.
“Both the invigilator and internal will be from the college and, therefore, they are very likely to favour the students. Assigning an external at a college ensures that the students get marks on merit,” Panhwar said.
The board pays Rs500 to BPS-17 teachers and Rs750 to BPS-18 teachers who are hired as externals. Up to three externals may be hired for physics, chemistry and biology in each center.
SPLA member Prof. Liaquat Jaffri said that the board had not been hiring externals for the last two years for the same reason despite the fact that the examination fee charged from the students by BISE Hyderabad was higher than that by the Sukkur and Larkana boards. He said that the teachers had caved in to the BISE’s excuses about their financial woes during the last two years but they would now resist the board’s decision.
During the theory exams, the vigilance teams booked more than 1,500 students for cheating and 23 invigilators for assisting the students to cheat.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2013.